Category Archives: Booking News

We are proud to announce that our friend and client the late, great Lance Diamond will be honored with a “Trailblazing Sign” on Elmwood Avenue in Buffalo.

The Lance Diamond Trailblazer sign will be at the corner of Elmwood and West Utica, just outside Milkie’s/Elmwood Lounge where Lance performed for 30 years. The dedication is scheduled to take place around July 4th, Lance’s birth date.

Biography
It was a vision of musical stardom as a Detroit teen that inspired Mary Wilson, along with Diana Ross and Florence Ballard, to found one of the most successful female singing groups in recording history – The Supremes. Since then, Wilson has gone on to be a part of dozens of hit records, has written a best-selling autobiography, performed on stage and screen, lectured and toured the world, and continues to be looked up to as a singer who set the standard for females in the recording industry.

This past summer, Wilson performed a number of consecutive shows at Feinstein’s at the Regency, New York’s premiere supper club. In her “Mary Wilson: Up Close” show, she wowed audiences with an intimate selection of standards and easy-listening tunes that showcased her smoky voice and vocal prowess. Wilson closed the season at the prestigious nightclub, which The New York Post called “an invaluable New York institution,” and will continue another in-demand series of performances at the Empire Plush Room at the York Hotel in San Francisco from December 4th-16th.

As an original Supreme, Wilson was a much sought-after interview regarding the award-winning film DREAMGIRLS, currently on DVD. After covering the red carpet premiere for “Extra,” she endeared herself to a whole new generation of Hollywood stars and fans alike, including Golden Globe winners Eddie Murphy and Jennifer Hudson, as well as Jamie Foxx and Snoop Dogg! The success of DREAMGIRLS has also rekindled interest in Wilson’s best-selling autobiography, Dreamgirl: My Life as a Supreme.

In addition to her tireless performing and trips to the studio to record her new album, Wilson, along with The Vocal Group Hall of Fame and Friends Against Musical Exploitation, is lobbying state governments to pass a bill prohibiting bogus musical groups from cashing in on the names and likeness of such famous acts as The Supremes, The Platters and The Four Tops. Wilson and company have proposed an amendment to the Truth in Advertising Act (1968) that would prevent such groups from performing under such classic bands’ names unless they contained an original member or had specific licenses to do so. To date, Pennsylvania, the Carolinas, the Dakotas, Illinois, Nevada, and Texas have passed the bill in landslide majorities. Wilson’s goal is to garner enough state support (10 need to adopt the bill) to lobby Congress to pass a federal law. “We have given America and the world happiness with our music; it’s time that we have a law that protects us and our legacy,” Wilson states.

Tireless in her contributions to charity and society at large, Wilson was recently named as a spokesperson for The Humpty Dumpty Institute’s initiative to raise public awareness about the worldwide scourge of landmines. As HDI’s Mine Action Spokesperson, Wilson traveled to Sri Lanka and then Laos this past fall, visiting schools impacted by unexploded ordinance left over from the Vietnam War. After helping to detonate 58 bombs and declaring safe zones, she held a charity concert in Colombo, Sri Lanka. In addition, Wilson will adress the annual conference of the US Department of Agriculture on Food Security and in May will do another concert to kick off HDI’s Farmer Markets Program. In early summer, she will travel to Vietnam and visit the mine action program.

Additionally, in 2003, Wilson was named a US Cultural Ambassador by US Secretary of State Colin Powell as part of the “Culture Connect” program, whose goal is to improve cross-cultural understanding internationally. As such, she undertook missions to Bangladesh, Pakistan, South Asia and South America on behalf of the US Department of State. Wilson was also recently awarded a Doctorate of Humane Letters from Paine College in Augusta, GA.

While growing up in Detroit’s Brewster Projects, a young Mary Wilson had long fantasized about being a performer, her love for singing having blossomed when she befriended Florence Ballard, Betty McGlown and Diane Ross at age 13. Fueled by their mutual love of music and their ambition for stardom, the quartet formed a singing group, The Primettes, and became the sister group of The Primes, who saw two members go on to form The Tempations. When Betty left the group to get married, the girls recruited Barbara Martin. Together they auditioned for then fledgling Motown label and were eventually signed. Barbara dropped out of the group, and the remaining trio of Mary, Flo and Diane became known as The Supremes.

At first, success eluded the girls, who recorded several albums before getting their first hit. In fact, they were dubbed the “No-Hit Supremes” until Motown founder Berry Gordy put them in touch with his top writing and producing team, Holland-Dozier-Holland. Four decades and 40 albums later, what once started as a dream has exceeded beyond Wilson’s wildest imagination. With an unprecedented 12 number-one hits, including five in a row – “Where Did Our Love Go,” “Baby Love,” “Stop, In The Name Of Love,” and “Back in My Arms Again” – The Supremes set the precedent for super group success.

Wilson worked hard to keep the dream alive even after Florence and Diana left the group. In 1970, Berry Gordy brought in Jean Terrell to replace Ross, with Cindy Birdsong having replaced Florence Ballard. Together, they formed The New Supremes, racking up three top 10 hits [“Up The Ladder To The Roof,” “Stoned Love,” and “River Deep, Mountain High” (with the Four Tops)].

In 1977, Mary knew it was time for her to pursue her own dream; Motown released Mary’s first solo album, “Mary Wilson,” which yielded the dance hit, “Red Hot,” in 1979. In 1992, Wilson released her first album in thirteen years, “Walk the Line,” which produced the single “One Night With You.” To this day Wilson continues to tour under the moniker of Mary Wilson of The Original Supremes, and has performed for handfuls of celebrities and politicians all over the world, including The Clintons at The White House.

Fans of Wilson can hear her smoky voice in the latest Supremes collection, Diana Ross & The Supremes: The No.1s, re-mastered original recordings of their chart-topping hits. With 24 tracks spanning 18 years of The Supremes sound, the album includes hits from the many reincarnations of the group including the original Supremes, Diana Ross & The Supremes and The Supremes post-Ross.

Throughout the late 70s and 80s, Mary hit the lecture circuit to tell her amazing story. She still lectures to this day, her “Dare To Dream” circuit including such organizations at American Cancer Society, St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, UNICEF and many more. Wilson eventually put her story to print, becoming a best-selling author with her autobiography, Dreamgirl…My Life As A Supreme. Dreamgirl went on to sell over 250,000 copies in hardback, becoming one of the most successful rock and roll autobiographies of all time.

The overwhelming success of that first book prompted Wilson to pen its sequel, Supreme Faith…Someday We’ll Be Together. Currently, The Complete Works by Mary Wilson combines the first two books with additional chapters added.

Throughout her career, Mary has enjoyed spreading her creative wings in other areas, although music remains her primary focus. Mary is the only original Supreme to undertake the challenge of legitimate theatre, making her stage debut in 1988 with “Beehive,” a musical tribute to the female groups of the 60s. Most recently, Wilson starred in a national tour of “Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Ladies,” the celebrated tribute to the music of the legendary jazz great. Her other theatre credits include “Leader of the Pack,” about the life of the songwriter Elly Greenwich, and numerous off-Broadway shows including “Mother’s Hubbard,” “Idealla’s Soul Shack,” “The Vagina Monologues” at the Detroit Opera House and “Grandma Sylvia’s Funeral,” where respected columnist Liz Smith proclaimed: “Mary Wilson, the sexiest and most attractive of the three original Supremes, a true survivor, makes her off-Broadway debut!” Wilson’s film credits include Disney’s TIGERTOWN, the documentaries BROWN SUGAR and THE GIRL GROUPS, and Lifetime Networks’ made for television movie, JACKIE’S BACK.

In addition to a stint as a guest judge on the FOX hit “American Juniors” and performing for ABC’s “Motown 45th Anniversary Special,” Wilson was last seen in Miramax’s ONLY THE STRONG SURVIVE, a documentary that catches up with the soul music stars of the 60s and 70s. Of Wilson in ONLY THE STRONG SURVIVE, the Los Angeles Times said “Mary Wilson remains strikingly attractive and a vibrant singer of much style and authority; Wilson may have been a backup singer with the Supremes but is in truth a lead singer with a star quality never fully recognized.”

Throughout her career, Mary Wilson has had the privilege and pleasure of performing all over the world. Many of her performances with The Supremes were requested by royalty, such as for Britain’s Queen Mother as well as for the King of Sweden. In 2000, Wilson had the prestigious honor of performing at the White House for the Millennium Celebration as well as two inaugural dinners held in President Bush’s honor.

A tireless humanitarian, Mary was awarded the Lifetime Achievement award by the National Foundation of Women Legislators and asked to join the Delegation of Woman Legislators. Wilson also participated in a Trade and Civil Life Conference in Bahrain with many of the kingdom’s highest officials, hosted by the Prince and Prime Minister of Bahrain. The Free Trade Bill between the US and Bahrain remains a project that Wilson is very proud to have been a part of. Wilson has also visited the African nations of Mozambique and Botswana, where she spoke with thousands of children on the dangers of HIV and AIDS.

In 1988, The Supremes were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, receiving the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award, which Wilson personally accepted. Seven years later, the Hall launched an exhibit of the “Supremes” gowns for the museum’s opening in Cleveland, Ohio called The Supremes Reflections: The Mary Wilson Supreme Legacy Collection. Wilson had been personally archiving the gowns for years before the exhibit, and was the natural choice for curator. The Mary Wilson Supreme Legacy Collection, including the Butterfly dresses worn on their 1968 television special, is currently on tour, opening at the following museums: the Grand Rapids Public Museum in Michigan (Nov 4th, 2007) and The Theatre Museum in London (May 12th, 2008). The collection has appeared at the New York State Museum in Albany, The LBJ Museum in Austin, The Museum of Metropolitan Art in New York, and The Detroit Historical Museum to name a few.

With a successful solo career – and new CD out later this year – an equally successful literary career and her tireless humanitarian efforts, Mary’s future couldn’t look brighter. She is living proof that dreams really do come true!

This is the first in a series of ongoing articles with musicians, actors, news people, artists and other interesting people. Today Steve Reszka of The Booking Connection talks to Terry Sylvester of The Hollies.

Terry Sylvester is one of five people from Liverpool, England inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. He grew up with the other four … John, Paul, George and Ringo.

Terry started his rock & roll career as a teenager with his group The Escorts. The band had quite a reputation throughout England and were specifically asked to open for The Beatles at their final performance at the legendary Cavern Club.

Terry’s notoriety grew. He joined The Swinging Blue Jeans and had a huge hit with Hippy Hippy Shake. After touring across Europe for several year, The Hollies called Terry in 1968 and asked him to join the group replacing Graham Nash. While with The Hollies Terry was part of many Top 10 hits including: Long Cool Woman (In A Black Dress), He Ain’t Heavy (He’s My Brother), Sorry Suzanne and The Air That I Breathe.

Terry left the group in 1981 to start a successful solo career. He and the Hollies were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2010.

Terry currently tours North America and the United Kingdom performing the many great songs of his career. He will be performing at the Bromley Family Theatre in Bradford, Pennsylvania on Saturday January 30th.

Steve Reszka: Tell us about growing up in Liverpool and how you first met John, Paul, George and Ringo.

Terry Sylvester: Liverpool was still recovering from WW2 when I was growing up. Because it was an important sea port, there were bomb sites everywhere.

The only thing I liked at school was sports and I left school at age 14. I worked in a garage as a panel beater, my boss was Peter Harrison, George’s older brother. I started to play the guitar and George would pop in and give me advice.

Paul McCartney lived 200 yards from me in the next road so I’d known him for years and when we formed my first group, The Escorts, our drummer was Ringo’s cousin. In fact, Ringo got us our residency at the ‘Blue Angel Club’ in Liverpool. I was only 16 at the time.

SR: The Escorts were asked to open for The Beatles when they played their last gig at the legendary Cavern Club. What do you remember about that night?

TS: On August 3, 1963, the ‘Beatles’ played at the ‘Cavern Club’ for the final time, playing 292 times in all. The Escorts were now an established group but still waiting for a hit record. The Beatles however were now very famous in the UK and had just recorded She Loves You the owner of the Cavern Club Ray McFall remembered he let The Beatles cancel a performance once so they could do a TV show. Even though they were far too big for the Cavern now, they fulfilled their obligation.

People had been in line outside for days, it was a crazy night. We, The Escorts, opened the show. All of us including the ‘Beatles’ were in the tiny dressing room by the side of the stage since very early in the day. There was no back door so we came through the front entrance, the only entrance.

SR: In 1968, you were touring Czechoslovakia with The Swinging Blue Jeans. Why did you have to leave so quickly in the middle of the night?

TS: Sadly ‘The Escorts’ couldn’t get the hit record that would have let us do more shows around the UK. But a bit of luck came my way when I was asked to join the Swinging Blue Jeans in January of 1966. They played almost every night all over the UK and Europe.

In 1968 we were on a three week tour of the then Czechoslovakia. We noticed that there were tanks in the main streets everywhere we went. The day after we flew back to the UK, the Russians invaded the country. That was a close call for us.

TS: The Escorts did play Europe a couple of times. In 1965, we had a one month residency at a club in Munich, Germany, called the Hit House. In the middle of the month the Hollies were booked for the weekend, so we opened for them.

We knew them as we’d done shows with them before, but we got really friendly with them and we all hung around together while they were there. Fast forward three years and the news that Graham Nash was leaving the Hollies hit the papers. I called their manager and said if they needed me, contact me. They did, and the rest is history.

I later found out that my name came up in a meeting after Graham had left, so I guess it was meant to be. Joining them was the happiest day of my life, I’d made the big time at last!

SR: One of The Hollies biggest hits is Carrie Anne. Is Carrie Ann a real person and did you ever meet her?

TS: When I was living in London, England I played in a charity cricket match with Chris Jagger, Mick’s younger brother. At the game in Hertfordshire Chris introduced me to his wife, ‘Carrie Anne’. I said to her “did your parents name you after the Hollies hit? She said, “they wrote the song after me.” It’s true, she was a model back in the day and they all met at a party. Graham Nash & Tony Hicks started writing the song and Allan Clarke later added the middle verse.

Steve Reszka is a partner in Booking Connections, supplying entertainers and speakers for a variety events. For more information contact him at www.bookingconnection.com.

Congratulations to CHEAP TRICK, CHICAGO, DEEP PURPLE, STEVE MILLER and N.W.A for being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for 2016.

They’ll be honored in an April ceremony in New York.

“Frankly, I was very surprised that we’d been nominated since we’ve been eligible for so long,” CHICAGO co-founder/keyboardist ROBERT LAMM told ROLLING STONE. “I think that the body of work, even just considering the work we did on the first album and beyond, changed the face of pop music for us to be considered influential.”

“Anyone that was ever in the STEVE MILLER BAND will feel that they were definitely part of what made the band,” MILLER said to ROLLING STONE. “Of course I couldn’t have done it without any of them.”

CHEAP TRICK guitarist RICK NIELSEN told ROLLING STONE, “Usually, I’m a man of many words, but this has got me in a tizzy here. I’m verklempt — Live at Budokan wasn’t too bad. Getting our first record deal wasn’t too bad. Doing 5,000 shows, not too bad. But this might get moved right to the top of our résumé.”

“With so many lineups, it’s a minefield,” DEEP PURPLE’s drummer IAN PAICE told ROLLING STONE. “If I was running the HALL OF FAME, I wouldn’t have known how to do it — But it looks like we’re in and I’m very pleased.”

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